Peyton Manning @ MindSay 
THOUGHTS ON WEEK THREE IN THE NFL
Guys shouldn't have to go to the hospital before they figure out something is wrong. Nobody knows when Chris Simms (Tampa Bay QB) actually suffered his spleen injury but given all the symptoms doctors should be partial to the health and safety of the players first and not the teams who want to continue to play him until the game is over, or his head is beaten to a pulp.
Terrell Owens needs help. Not on his finger and not with his mouth but psychological help. Arrogence and ego are two things he certainly possesses, and likes to possess, but when reports start getting out that you attempted to commit suicide by overdosing on pain medication, a normal person I have to believe would get a little angry and come out pleading his case, like an innocent man on trial; not bask in the attention of another soap opera like T.O. did and then smile on cue for the television camera. The NFL should not clear him to play until he makes it very clear that he understands such behavior is not celebratory but pathological, and before he hurts himself.
The obituaries about Brett Favre being old and washed up are a little premature. 400 career TD passes makes him second all-time to Dan Marino.
The uncomfortable body language from Tom Brady seems to indicate even Mr. All America is human and needs some help on the offensive side of the ball if the Patriots are to remain an elite team in the AFC.
Somebody want to tell the New York Giants the whistle blows for 4 quarters and not just the 4th quarter.
Houston is still the worst team in the league when even they can make Mark Brunell look that good.
Carson Palmer is back. Ben Roethlesberger is not yet.
The Bengals look like the team with the most upside, ready to take the reins as the team to beat, the Steelers like a team with a whole lot of question marks and not likely to repeat.
I'm more and more impressed with Rex Grossman every time I see him. He's no Peyton Manning, but neither is he simply a manager in the mold of a Trent Dilfer or Brad Johnson whose main responsibility is to not screw things up. The NFL is more fun when the Chicago Bears are one of the better teams.
REGGIE BUSH v. MARIO WILLIAMS
Reggie Bush v. Atlanta Falcons (then 2-0)
13 carries for 53 yards, a respectable 4.1 average. 4 catches for 19 yards. O TD's. He hasn't broke one yet in the NFL but it's only a matter of time. Every time he touches the ball your eyes are fixed on him to see what he will do. More important, 3 games into his rookie season he hasn't forced the issue yet or tried to make a big play out of nothing and turn the ball over. Can be lethal even as a decoy, like the double reverse where he handed the ball off that led to their second TD. Defenses already are very aware of him and keying on him as one of those guys you have to stop. Has contributed in all three games and the Saints offense, in large part because of him, is noticably better this year. Most important, the Saints are 3-0.
Mario Williams v. Washington Reskins (then 0-2)
3 tackles, 0 sacks, 0 forced fumbles, 0 interceptions in 31-15 loss to lowly Redskins.
The Texans are now 0-3 on the season and going nowhere fast.
SUNDAY TRIFECTA
CHARGERS-RAVENS
Hopefully coming off a bye week won't slow the Bolts down This game features one of the league's most high-powered offenses against the stingiest defense. Something has to give when our 2-0 record meets Baltimore at 3-0. I know the saying, good defense stops a good offense and the home team has the edge, but Shawn Merriman makes the Charger defense no pushover either and the Ravens still are struggling to execute their offense consistently. Bolts by 3.
PATRIOTS-BENGALS
Who do you root for when the All-American boy squares off against the Comeback Kid? I can't root against Tom Brady but want so much for Carson Palmer to continue his comeback from injury and lead Cincinnati deep into the playoffs. This is one of three games this year that features high powered QBs with a flair for the dramatic on the NFL calendar (Indy-New England and indy-Cincinnati being the other two) that for my money are must see. F*%@ ball control and low scoring defensive battles, give me a shoot out with the over/under at 60. At 2-1 and coming off a loss, the Pats need this game more than the 3-0 Bengals, but the Bengals have more to prove besides just winning in Pittsburgh. I'm pulling for OT and whoever has the ball last to win.
SEAHAWKS-BEARS
Early season game with playoff implications. Reigning NFC champs against most likely challengers this season. Added bonus that this game is in windy Chicago instead of overcast Seattle where the Bears will have the home field advantage. And oh yes, what ever will Matt Hasselbeck and the Seahawks offense do without NFL MVP Sean Alexander in the backfield? Run more plays with 4 wideouts and throw the ball 40 times a game. Aren't they glad Deion Branch arrived just in time at WR. Won't be enough. Against a mediocre defense, Seattle could probably get away with it but not against Da' Bears. Chicago by 7.
bigger brother always bests little brother in the end. not only did peyton win but indy led the whole way. i know i know, eli had a higher qb rating, threw 2 tds to peyton's 1 but stats never tell the whole story. tell the folks over at sabermetrics and moneyball that if they ever listen
new england may not be the best team or even the most talented, and keeps losing players right and left (branch) and still finds a way to win. credit belichick and tom brady, as good a qb in the league as peyton even though not the same numbers. see above on overrated statistics.
bad guys
terrell owens (played pretty good), dallas cowboys 0--1.
randy moss, oakland raiders 0--1
good guys
marvin harrison, indy 1--0
chad johnson, cincinnati 1--0
i'm still trying to figure out if baltimore is that good, or tampa bay that bad (baltimore 26 tampa bay 0)
chicago's d is that good, and green bay's o that bad (bears 27-0) sorry bret favre.
i don't need to figure out that the chargers are pretty good (lt, gates and merriman) and the oakland raiders are so very, horribly bad.
sc' alums
welcome back carson, hello reggie bush!
arizona looks like they have finally turned the corner from mediocre into possibly something special. keep learning matt leinart, you're day will come sooner than later.
i like what i saw from atlanta, i did not like what i saw from carolina. i'm amending my super bowl pick; indy v. i'm now undecided. does it really matter though, the afc is so much better than the nfc.
REGGIE BUSH v. MARIO WILLIAMS
(fyi, reggie bush was the ..2 pick in the nfl draft by the new orleans saints after the houston texans selected williams ..1 despite the overwhelming chorus of experts, fans and insiders all ranking bush the best player to come out of college football)
The texans were soooo dumb.
Reggie Bush week one vs. Cleveland
14 carries for 61 yards, longest for 18
8 catches for 58 yards
3 punt returns for 22 yards
0 td's
0 fumbles
23 touches for total of 141 yards
IMPACT: proved the hype is real and can handle the load. has already sold more jerseys with his ..25 than any rookie in last 5 years and given moribund saints franchise a sign of life. was the focal point for the saints offense and compliments rb deuce mc callister and wr joe horn and gives qb drew brees someone to hand off and throw to on every play. he's still a rookie and will have downs as well as ups but given the expectations, should be good for at least 1500 all-purpose yards. im betting he breaks 2000.
get excited new orleans, reggie bush is mardi gras.
Mario Williams week one v. Philadelphia
3 tackles
0 sacks
0 forced fumbles
IMPACT: little if any. opposing qb donovan mc nabb had a great day throwing for 3 td's and making easy work of texans beleagured d. sorry houston. mario may very well turn out to be a good player, but you could have had reggie. projected rb dominique davis is out for the year and david carr still has little protection. how long before texans fans start showing up with bags on their heads and calling for regime change upstairs???
WEEK TWO TRIFECTA
(1) Sunday Studs
indy and cincinnati both at home big over houston and cleveland. c'mon, that's too easy. peyton will go for 4 td's and 350. marvin harrison, reggie wayne and dallas clark will all have big games. carson will go for 3 td's and 300. chad johnson will see the endzone more times than randy moss and terrell owens combined.
(2) Upset of the Day
arizona will beat seattle in seattle. laugh until about 4.30 pm sunday afternoon pacific time when it becomes official. arizona is a better team than detroit with a much more potent offense. expect another shootout, but since it's still early in the season, and kurt warner hasn't broken down (yet) he's good for another solid game and edge will keep the chains moving and shawn alexander off the field enough to keep it close. arizona wins it late in a shootout 31--28.
(3) Bolts' Home Opener
sunny socal, la dainian tomlinson (best rb in the game), antonio gates (best te in the game) and shawn merriman (best young de in the game) will be more than enough to power chargers over tennessee and keep building phillip rivers confidence. sd had no business letting drew brees go, but what's done is done. given how bad oakland is, that trent green of kc is out for several weeks and denver is already calling for plummer's head, this division could be ours for the taking. wishful thinking???
(sidebar) I don't pick winners for every game, that's what bookies and ESPN are for. I pick out three of the most interesting games on the calendar and give my opinion. Wait til' after Monday night to tell me how wrong I was.
CINCINNATI BENGALS @ KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
The Line: Chiefs by 1.5
WHO'S GOT MORE TO PROVE?
Easily the closest game of the day, on paper. Both teams have questions to answers before claiming to be legitimate Super Bowl contenders. For Cincy, is Carson Palmer healthy? For KC, is Larry Johnson for real or another one-hit wonder?? The second highest over under of the day, look for this one to be a shootout.
My pick: Whoever has the ball last, hopefully that will be the Bengals.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS @ NEW YORK GIANTS
The Line: Colts by 3
WHO'S THE (MAN)NING?
Early season game of the year. C'mon, Peyton vs. Eli, Manning Bowl I, this game had Sunday night opener written on it when the schedule first came out last spring. Ok, once the hype ends and they kick off what to expect? I take the players at their word, that neither Peyton nor Eli are looking forward to this. Look for a slow beginning. The G-men have Tiki to hand the ball off too and Indy is going to learn what life without Edgerrin James is like. By the second half though, the novelty should wear off and the competitive nature of both QB's should set it. I heard that Eli beat Peyton in a game of pickup basketball when he was in HS and Peyton at Tennessee, and afterward, they didn't talk for several days. Little brother can never outshine bigger brother. Peyton is still the best QB in the game for a reason and on a mission to claim the Super Bowl ring that tragically eluded him year. Beating little brother Eli in week one is an appropriate beginning.
My pick: Indy by 2 TD's.
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS @ OAKLAND RAIDERS
The Line: Chargers by 3
RIVALRY GAME
Whether one of these two teams, or both, is bad this is still one of the more entertaining games to watch. My verdict is still out on Phillip Rivers, even though the Bolts' front office confirmed by belief in their own incompetence this off-season in letting Drew Brees walk. That said, we still have the best RB in the game in LT, the best Tight End in Gates, and an improved Defense over last year that got better as the season went on. Of course I want to believe that we can go 16-0 this year but it's been 34 years since that happened and we're not as good as the '72 Dolphins. I'll take the wild card at 9-7. The Raiders should be 2 of those wins. Aaron Brooks is more Kerry Collins than Rich Gannon, Randy Moss is no Jerry Rice and their Defense still can't stop the run. There's a reason LT has had some of his best games against this sorry excuse for a football team. I hate the Raiders ok!
My pick: Bolts by 7